Practice at The Linc
Posted: August 9th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 234 Comments »The Eagles held Sunday’s practice in front of fans at The Linc. It was Military Appreciation Day, with the Eagles hosting members of the Armed Services and involving them before and after practice.
Let’s start with the bad news of the day. Rookie CB JaCorey Shepherd collided with Darren Sproles. The rookie wasn’t expecting the collision to be so violent. He had to be carted off the field with a knee injury.
ACL injury feared for Eagles' Shepherd http://t.co/viePO5VIja via @phillysport
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) August 9, 2015
We should find out the results of the MRI some time on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed for the rookie.
* * * * *
As far as practice notes, let’s start with Andrew Kulp. Real good stuff from him today.
As CSNPhilly.com’s Geoff Mosher noted in his Day 6 observations, (Jaylen) Watkins appears to be progressing nicely this camp. The 2014 fourth-round pick had an interesting duel with first-round rookie Nelson Agholor in 1-on-1s on Sunday. On one rep, Agholor employed what it appeared to be a killer double move, but Watkins didn’t bite at all, and wound up breaking up the pass attempt downfield. However, Agholor would get the better of him eventually in the same period, hauling in a perfectly thrown deep ball over Watkins for a touchdown. If Shepherd is out for any significant period of time, Watkins may become the new favorite after appearing in just one game on defense for the Eagles last season, which means his every move be under intense scrutiny going forward.
Watkins took over for Shepherd as the top Nickelback. He and E.J. Biggers will compete for the job if Shepherd is out for an for an extended period. Watkins has the skill set to be good in the slot. You hope Shepherd is okay, but the Eagles have other options. We’ll get into this situation more once we know Shepherd’s MRI results.
Now onto Ryan Mathews.
It can be difficult to tell whether running plays are successful or not at camp due to the lack of tackling, but it was a little easier on Sunday thanks to the aerial view the Linc’s press box provides, and Ryan Mathews really stood out. Mathews was hitting the correct holes, and with a suddenness and force and conviction that you like to see. On one play, he juked an unattended defender right out of his shoes in the backfield, then turned the right corner where there was nothing but daylight. Mathews also contributed some fine catches out of the backfield, including a score. There’s a reason the buzz around this two-time 1,000-yard rusher is growing.
I think some people forget Mathews was a great college player and a 1st round pick. Talent isn’t an issue. He just needs to stay healthy. The Eagles won’t over-work him so that puts Mathews in a terrific situation. By playing less he could actually be more of an impact player.
* * * * *
There was one play that I absolutely loved from Malcolm Jenkins. Typically, when there are run plays, the RB will be tagged, and he’ll still run the play out into the secondary anyway. In a red zone drill, DeMarco Murray was tagged and was looking to finish the run into the end zone. However, Malcolm Jenkins stood him up at the goal line and refused to let Murray in to the end zone. Loved that.
Nelson Agholor’s change of direction is very impressive. On a kick return, he stuck his foot in the ground, mid-sprint, made a 90 degree cut, and lost almost no speed at all. That was joy-stick stuff. Impressive.
Eric Rowe flashed a bit today. He looked very athletic on a diving pass breakup.
Jenkins was a terrific free agent signing. The Eagles got a good player and also a good leader.
Agholor has been up and down this summer, but there is no question about his talent. I can’t promise you he’ll turn out like Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson or Jordan Matthews, but I will guarantee you he’s not going to be Freddie Mitchell.
Rowe is pushing Nolan Carroll for a starting gig.
* * * * *
One-on-one time. Josh Huff tries to shake Byron Maxwell with a post-corner move but Maxwell has him blanketed and forces the incompletion. The former Seahawk definitely has some swagger to him. He hams it up afterwards, pointing to the fans in the corner of the end zone, who respond with a roar. It’s a good sequence for the defensive backs. Nolan Carroll with some good coverage on Miles Austin. Jaylen Watkins follows with a pass breakup of a Sam Bradford ball intended for Nelson Agholor. Cory Undlin is loving it.
It’s Huff vs. Maxwell once again. This time, the receiver finds some separation on an in-route and makes the catch, but Maxwell strips the ball loose after a few strides.
It’s the 3-on-2 period, where two receivers go up against a pair of defensive backs. Trey Burton makes a nice sliding grab along the left sideline. That’s followed by one of the nicest hook-ups of the day as Bradford lofts a pretty deal ball to Huff, who makes an over-the-shoulder catch with Malcolm Jenkins in coverage.
The toughest thing about Training Camp is that you don’t want one side to dominate the other. You want Maxwell to win some battles, but Huff to win a couple as well.
Because the secondary struggled so much in 2014, it is encouraging to hear this group of players is winning their share of battles. Maxwell seems like the real deal and the other DBs are coming along nicely.
As to Huff, he is better this summer than he was a year ago. He still has plenty of work to do to get where he needs to be, but he’s showing the physical potential that made the Eagles think he was worth a 3rd round pick. It will be really interesting to see him in preseason games.
* * * * *
Jeff McLane has some praise for Walter Thurmond.
It’s going to take a strong push for someone to supplant Thurmond at safety. He’s constantly around the ball. He had the two interceptions today. He also rushed into the backfield on one ran play, past WR Jordan Matthews and wrapped up RB Raheem Mostert. I don’t know how good Thurmond will be compared to other starting safeties around the league. It’s too early to say. But the Eagles seem to like him more than the other alternatives (e.g.: Earl Wolff).
That’s good to hear. Thurmond isn’t going to be a punishing hitter so he needs to be active in the passing game. He does need to show that he can be a reliable tackler. The preseason games will be a huge test in that area. The Eagles focus on technique in camp, but don’t do a lot of live tackling.
* * * * *
PE.com had notes on the OL/DL.
During the one-on-one pass rushing drills between the two sides of the line, there were a few standouts, both expected and unexpected. On the defensive side of the ball, undrafted rookie defensive end Travis Raciti impressed, consistently pushing the pocket. Linebacker Connor Barwin was also his usually impressive self, teaching second-year lineman Kevin Graf a lesson at one point in which Graf overset to the outside, leaving Barwin an easy lane for a spin move.
On the other side of the ball, Andrew Gardner held up well at left tackle, holding his own against Fletcher Cox. A day after Chip Kelly sung his praises, undrafted rookie Malcolm Bunche impressed again. The drills should be taken with grain of salt, though, as explained Sunday by defensive coordinator Bill Davis.
“It really is about the technique of the first couple steps and then the hands and you’ll see them peel off and that will be the end of it,” Davis said. “If you have put a quarterback in you have to protect him. So it’s really about the first couple steps, angles, their sets, our angles, our hands, their hands, those type of things are what you are looking at.”
I do miss the days when we used to get extensive notes on the OL vs the DL. Those were some of the most compelling battles up at Lehigh.
Travis Raciti is a UDFA that could push for a roster spot or land on the practice squad. He has a good frame and is athletic. He might need a year of seasoning to really push for a spot, but he does have talent.
* * * * *
Misc Thoughts
* Several people wrote about Trey Burton today. He had his best day of camp so far. Burton got bigger and stronger in the offseason and some wondered if that slowed him down. He’s been quiet so far this summer, but maybe today’s showing will get him going.
Burton is the #3 TE, but most importantly he is an impact STer. We’ll get to see that part of his game in the preseason contests. STs plays are not full speed in camp. You don’t want 22 of your players sprinting up and down the field and running full speed into each other. Too much of an injury risk.
* Some of the UDFA TEs have made plays this summer, but it doesn’t seem like one of them has stood out above the rest.
* Julian Vandervelde was the starting RG again today. I wonder if this is a reward for him playing well or a way of punishing the others for not playing well enough.
* One encouraging part of camp is that Earl Wolff has been able to stay on the field. He hasn’t stood out in a big way (aside from a hit on Quron Pratt), but Wolff is practicing every day. He has the talent to play. He just has to stay on the field and play to his potential.
_
Great day for Rowe….especially on that one break-up. I think Ajirotutu? was sitting open on the edge of the end zone, Bradford threw a nice ball, but Rowe came in like superman and swatted it away
“Your first team right guard is Julian Vandervelde. How much did you pay for admission and parking?”
Remember last year when countless people were whining that Malcolm Jenkins was a waste of time and money? They must have been looking into the wrong crystal ball.
Jenkins was good through the first 9-10 games last season, but seemed to slow down and struggle more down the stretch. I like him, but we’ll need a full season of very good play since the rest of the secondary outside of Maxwell are question marks right now. We’ll find out more during preseason. I hope Chip/Billy have thought this through, have several backup plans in case something goes awry and will actually use them instead of pounding a round peg into a square hole like they did last season with Fletcher.
I think part of that is some of the players around him. You had IMO two weak CBs and a S that seemed lost at times. Those 3 had some ups and downs (more downs) last season, so I don’t want to say Jenkins tailed off. He can’t be in two places at once, and if he can I need to learn that super power.
When C. Matthews was playing at the end of the year, the back end of the defense became an absolute mess. I don’t think those two facts are completely unrelated. There were just too many holes back there at that point that I don’t think anyone could have been successful in the spot Jenkins was in at that point, and he’s clearly not one of the true game changers; but he is definitely “good enough,” and probably better than that.
I never got the Jenkins hate.
He’s not Earl Thomas, but who that was available is? He’s a solid, dependable, versatile NFL safety and those are in short supply these days. And he’s a stand-up guy and team leader to boot. Very glad to have him.
The hate started with PFF ranking him as one of the worst safeties (along with Barwin as one of the worst 3-4 OLBs).
It’s almost like professional staffs with a dozen veteran scouts on the payroll are better at their jobs than Joe the pizza guy at evaluating players.
Im still amazed that they claim to scout videos faster than any real scout or coach and at the same time know more about a play than even the coach of the team.
Three hours after the game is over, we have broken down the TV copy (oh jesus) and assigned grades because well I think that it was the LG who didn’t do a good job, couldn’t possibly be the C messing up the protection call and the QB not throwing to the hot route.
They now also say they have a secret network of pro coaches that verifies their grades with a total of 400 years of experience (so in essence it could be 1600 coaches with 1/4 year of experience).
I also doubt any coach worth anything would have the time to verify anything consider how much time a real coach would use on a tape
They just hired Jordan Plocher, so they seem to be making steps in the right direction insofar as improving the graders.
It’s always going to be an extremely flawed system. That it gets cited as abundantly as it does annoys me. I think if you removed the rush order, gave experienced evaluators and or coaches the all 22, and had two or three guys who focused solely on one team (canceling out any bias) allowing them to get a better understanding of the schemes/tendencies/responsibilites, it would be a far more useful tool. But that quickly becomes cost prohibitive.
It’s the beaten dog phenomenon. Eagles fans just thought all safeties were bad, other than their dream players. Can’t blame them.
It’s about how players do within a scheme. Patrick Chung was terrible here and goes on to win a SB with the Patriots. Sanchez was okay at the Jets and then comes here and breaks the Eagles’s completion percentage record in one season.
I wouldn’t say Chung was a key component, though.
He wasn’t, but he wasn’t a liability either. But then again he did have McCourty and Revis.
Plus Belicheck game planning.
Sanchez wasn’t okay with the Jets. He was awful in the regular season, mixed with one anomalously great playoff run. And even breaking the completion% isn’t enough to show he was any good here, either.
I don’t think it’s hate. I think it was more of talent available out there and the Eagles went with the ‘poor man’ approach. Jenkins is a solid safety. Nothing less, nothing more. Let’s not start making Jenkins out to be an elite safety.
True, but if all four are solid, that’s a making of a very good secondary. Solid (to me) means not making many mental mistakes, and if this secondary can cut down on the mistakes from last year – this defense can do some great things.
Or, put differently – A solid secondary behind a great front 7 can do some great things.
Amen!
The 6th round pick who nobody was talking about until a week ago got hurt.
PANICCCCCC
CUNCEL DA SAESON!
fire chip
call bane for stadium implosion
no point to even paying attention anymore.
You can make fun of the Chicken Littles at Philly.com all you want, but I think there are legitimate reasons to be worried about the secondary for this team. A unit that didn’t really have much proven depth to begin with has lost Boykin and now the guy who was to replace him in the space of a week. And it’s not like this team won’t have to contend with some good slot receivers this season. You don’t think the Giants coaches are looking forward to the opportunity to match up Victor Cruz against whatever mediocre JAG ends up playing slot corner for the Eagles?
Losing Shepard sucks and I hope his injury is OK but it’s a little over board to get this worked up over a slot corner position…and btw, it sounds like Watkins could step and fill in the roll nicely.
1, I think you overestimate the difference great NB play vs “meh” NB play has on the overall outcome. It’s a sheer volume proposition.
2. Name me ten nickebacks off the top of your head. I’m a football dork and I can’t.
3. It’s impossible to be 3 or 4 deep with high level experienced players everywhere. The Seahawks have shallow spots on their roster. So does NE. So do the Packers. And on down the list
4. Yea but the Patriots would never trade a great player on the eve of the season for a bunch of average and unproven players? See Mankins, Logan.
5. Cruz tore his knee up in October. He’s a good player but lets not make him out to be some world beater. Maybe in week 17 he’s be all the way back.
6. The slot WR’s we face this year: Justin Hardy, Cole Beasley, Jeremy Kerley, Andre Roberts, Josh Morgan, Cruz, Philly Brown, Beasley, Matt Hazel, Russel Sheppard, Ryan Broyles, Edelman, Marquise Goodwin, Jon Brown, Andre Roberts, Cruz. Some good players in there. Some pretty blah players in there.
7. Also I wouldn’t say the secondary as a whole is bad. Jenkins is good. Maxwell has looked very good. Thurmond has been solid thus far. We have Rowe/Carrol starting opposite Maxwell so Maxwell > Sconces, and Rowe/Carrol > Fletcher. We’re thin at S, but so is the whole league.
8. Is it fair to say the nickeback position will regress this year? Almost certainly. Is it anything to fret over? Hell no. It’s about the fifteenth most important aspect of us having a good season this year. Plus even if we kept Boykin come next year you were going to have a bevy of day 3 rookies, second, third year players, and retread vets competing for the job anyways. I don’t think any reasonable expectation for this season has us making a deep playoff run, may as well start the process now.
While I take your point that the impact this individual injury is likely to make isn’t that great, football is a game of attrition. Guys get hurt all the time and the more you lose at one position the faster a unit that was a strength becomes a glaring weakness because there’s a compounding effect when you suffer multiple injuries. See e.g. the offensive line last season. We would have been fine missing just Lane Johnson at the beginning of the year. But then you lose the guy who was going to replace Johnson in Barbre, and then you lose Mathis, and then Kelce, and then Herremans, and all of a sudden you’re starting castoffs like Molk and Gardner at multiple positions, you can’t get any push, and every defense you face makes your running game look pathetic and is able to harass your quarterback and give him the yips because he can’t trust his pass protection.
Yes, it’s impossible to be deep everywhere, but given this dynamic I think it’s foolish to voluntarily weaken your depth at one of your already suspect positions by trading a proven player like Boykin for what is not a very valuable asset in return. Nickel back is not the most critical position but being unable to cover a key guy like Beasley, Cruz, or Brown at a key moment could very well cost us a game (it did last year when Brown scored that late touchdown), and that could be the difference between winning the division at 11-5 or being a wild card at 10-6, or between making the playoffs at 10-6 and missing them at 9-7.
I’m not sure that Chip gets quite how razor thin the line between winning and losing is in the NFL. It’s a lot wider in college and you can afford to jettison talented problem children from the roster for nothing in return because in most college games having the equivalent of a DeSean Jackson or a Mathis versus having their backup is not going to cost you – nobody notices if the Ducks beat Eastern Washington 42-14 instead of 42-7. The NFL isn’t like that, and it’s worth noting that while Chip on the whole was an extremely successful college coach, in the games that most closely resemble an NFL-type competitive environment (high leverage games against elite conference opponents and bowl games) his record was not particularly impressive.
A fourth round pick is a fairly decent asset.
Please stop with the “chip doesn’t get the NFL and how talent works”. It’s a bad argument. It’s been debunked ad infinitum. It’s a lazy and poor from a logical standpoint argument. Stop.
Also the games Chip lost in college were against better teams with simply more talent. Oregon is far more talented now than they were during his tenure. And even now they simply don’t have the recruiting pipleline that the other national powerhouses do.
It might be a fourth round pick. There’s a good chance it’s a 5th rounder. There is what – a 30% chance a player drafted in either of those two rounds becomes an NFL contributor? 40%? YMMV but I’d rather have one year of high level nickel back play than a middling (at best) lottery ticket.
And no, I will not stop questioning whether Chip gets the NFL. For it to be a bad argument, I’d have to be using faulty logic or faulty evidence. No one on these boards who has engaged me has ever been able to explain how I’m doing either – they just do what you’re doing and say “you’re wrong, that’s a bad argument” without explaining why. While it may be incorrect to say that Chip does not get NFL talent evaluation, it has in no way, shape, or form been debunked either. Quite the contrary, there is actually evidence (jettisoning multiple Pro Bowl players for little or no return, wanting to overdraft guys like Taylor Hart, etc.) that he doesn’t understand the way valuing talent works in the NFL marketplace. This evidence may not mean anything – if Matt Tobin, Allen Barbre, Jaylen Watkins, etc. perform such that there is little or no dropoff from the guys who were previously manning those positions, then I will concede that Chip merely made judgments that he could get the same production with younger, cheaper talent and was correct in those judgments. But until that happens it is completely fair to be skeptical of him.
Cutting Jackson was clearly good talent eval. 😉
He was taken out by a tackling sled. Not someone I want to pay $10 million to. At least he could have been taken out by a concrete wall like Frerotte.
“Chip acts like he’s playing Eastern Washington”
Faulty and stupid logic.
Wanting to draft Taylor Hart in the third is player VALUTATION, not evaluation.
You can criticize his valuation abilities, but remember everyone wanted a “football guy”. The angry mob screamed to get rid of one of the best valuation minds in the business.
Valuation =/= Evaluation
He moved on from an aging, high salaried, rapidly declining RG.
So he sucks.
He got rid of an old LG complaining about his already high salary.
So he sucks.
He got rid of a player he didn’t get along with and who didn’t fit his prototype.
GASPPPPP
All of these things are completely unprecedented. I’ve never seen it happen before. Nope. Couldn’t possibly happen. NFL people are super super smart. Chip is dum dum college coach who can’t win national titles with Darren Thomas.
Also I’d rather have the 4th round pick for a guy who is leaving after the year and is going to make 10-15 positive plays above a replacement level player.
You are putting words in my mouth. Stop it.
“Chip acts like he’s playing Eastern Washington”
I didn’t say that Chip acts like he’s playing Eastern Washington. I said that the margin for error is much smaller in NFL games because there are no Eastern Washington-type gimmes on the schedule. Chip may appreciate this difference between the college and NFL games (he’s a smart guy so I’d assume he does), but he hasn’t acted like it with his roster moves – in the NFL, the calculus for the tradeoff between talent and team headache is different and Chip has acted more like a college coach in simply jettisoning talented guys he doesn’t like. That has already bitten him in the ass once, with Jackson not only being replaced by an inferior player in Cooper last year but coming back to make two huge plays against the Eagles in what amounted to a season-ending loss for them. It could very well bite him in the ass again.
He moved on from an aging, high salaried, rapidly declining RG.
Cutting Herremans I was okay with. The only issue I have with that is that if you’re going to do it, don’t spend your 3rd round pick on a luxury item like a 4th ILB when good offensive linemen are still available.
He got rid of an old LG complaining about his already high salary.
Mathis is still playing at a high level and it is almost certain that whoever plays LG this year will be a vastly inferior player. Is it worth taking a big step back on the field over what amounts to a drop in the salary cap bucket, esp. when other moves Chip has made (signing a backup RB to a fat contract, trading a very cheap QB in Foles for a much more expensive replacement in Bradford, etc.) do not indicate that salary cap management is his highest priority? IMO, no. It seems the epitome of penny wise and pound foolish to me.
He got rid of a player he didn’t get along with and who didn’t fit his prototype.
Not sure who exactly you’re talking about, but if it’s Jackson, well – first he allowed it to leak that the organization was looking to move on, tanking any trade value he might have had, then he let him go for nothing. I’m not the biggest DJax fan in the world, but the guy was a borderline Pro Bowl receiver in his prime. You should be able to at least get a low round pick for him, and you should be able to make sure he doesn’t end up with a division rival, again, biting you in the ass.
I’ve already acknowledged that I could be wrong and Kelly could just be smarter than I am – I am a skeptic, not an outright hater. But skepticism seems perfectly reasonable to me, and you are responding to what I think are well-grounded doubts with sarcasm and insults. That doesn’t make for a very productive conversation.
I’m not sure that Chip gets quite how razor thin the line between winning and losing is in the NFL. It’s a lot wider in college and you can afford to jettison talented problem children from the roster for
nothing in return because in most college games having the equivalent of a DeSean Jackson or a Mathis versus having their backup is not going to
cost you – nobody notices if the Ducks beat Eastern Washington 42-14 instead of 42-7. The NFL isn’t like that, and it’s worth noting that while Chip on the whole was an extremely successful college coach, in the games that most closely resemble an NFL-type competitive environment (high leverage games against elite conference opponents and bowl games)his record was not particularly impressive.”
I’m not putting words in your mouth the implication youre making in the above argument is that Chip doesn’t understand the NFL and talent differnces and thinks it’s akin to playing EWU.
The loss to the redskins didn’t knock us out of the playoffs. We would have failed to qualify even had we beaten them.
There was no OL available at our pick in the third or later that was likely to beat out our current stable. (Clemmings would have but clearly his medicals were awful for him to fall to the fourth)
Nothing leaked prior to them cutting DJAX. Jimmy speculated on it, based on reading the tea leaves, then the media ran wild with speculation. Jimmy wrote the article a month prior to Djax getting cut. A few days before hand you started hearing poorly cited rumors.
Why would anyone give anything of value for djax. He had a big contract. Nobody was going to trade for it. No one wanted to pay him that much. He signed for less money with the skins than he was owed. Once again this has been argued to death.
Mathis is a declining player. He turns 34 in November. He was publicly insubordinant. When OL go bad they go bad quickly. Mathis to Barbre isn’t as much of a dropoff as you make it out to be.
Ryan Matthews is absolutely not on a bad contract. It’s effectively a 2 year $6 million dollar deal with $1 million in dead money in year 3. RB’s only similar deals: Mark Ingram, CJ2K, Donald Brown, Toby Gerhart, Shonn Green, Joique Bell. Matthews is a better player than all of them.
Chip decided that Foles wasn’t his QB. So he moved on to someone who could possibly be the QB of the future. Does he cost more? Yes. If he plays well is that absolutely worth every penny and then some? Yes. If he bombs out does the $12 million dollars for one season in any way hamstring us? No.
Insofar as your concerns Chip doesn’t know how to manage the cap, we have the 10th most cap space and have $15 million dollars we can roll over.
I’m not insulting you. I’ve yet to make a personal attack. Is Chip beyond reproach? Absolutely not. But skepticism based on “Chip doesn’t get it” or “he can’t evaluate talent” (when the very start of this whole thing is based on fretting over a sixth round pick) or “this ain’t college” are poorly thought out criticisms seemingly arising out of skepticism for its own sake.
Agreed but it goes back to the larger point that I can’t quite understand what Kelly is trying to do this year.
Is he trying to rebuild? Is he trying to retool? Is he trying to contend this for a championship?
Really hard to get a sense given all of the moves that have occurred and the lack of Kelly clearly stating it himself.
Brown’s catch may have been on the corner, but his td was on Allen. Inexcusable mistake for a vet.
Yes I know that particular play wasn’t the nickel back’s fault, but the point I was making is that you can’t just write him off as an inconsequential player who can’t beat you. Clearly, he can.
Agree that NB is not inconsequential. And personally, I liked Boykin. But you are quick on the doom and gloom. It perpetuates the Philly stereotype: well thought out and verbiose attacks on the home team that are based almost entirely on opinion. At this point it is way too premature to say that NB is going to be a problem with the team this year. But it is very safe to say that every time the opposing slot has a decent game, people will be bringing up Boykin.
How many teams can reasonably expect to make a deep playoff run? Most teams need the chips to fall in place. The Eagles have set themselves up with as reasonable a shot as most to be playing in January. Of course, staying healthy might be a little bit more of a challenge for this group than most. 😉
Here’s 4 nickelbacks right here. 🙂
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/11/nickelback.jpg
LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH!!!!
EVERYTIME I DO IT MAKES ME LAUGH!
Me too. I will always remember the Detroit fans revolting against them doing the halftime show on Thanksgiving.
Would love to see a tag team cage match between 4 NFL nickelbacks and Nickelback!
3 out of 5 positions is mostly unknown (which more than not, means bad).
I don’t get this at all. Boykin was a part time player and now a rookie went down. I can’t find any headlines that were reading ‘Boykin and JaCorey will lead the Eagles’ … does the depth hurt? More like a bee sting. We would need about about 5 more injuries to happen to the secondary before we get to how brutal they were last year. I’m not expecting a shut out every game, but I’m expecting better than last year. Cruz? Ha.
Last week on this board when Boykin was traded people were saying “no big deal, Shepherd’s looked good so Boykin was expendable”. I disagreed with that evaluation, but fine, whatever. However, people can’t now turn around and say now that Shepherd’s hurt, it’s no big deal because the team didn’t need him to contribute anyway. Either Shepherd is a rookie who looked poised to make a serious contribution and make a proven veteran player expendable, or he’s a low round pick who was unlikely to make an impact anyway, but he can’t be both.
I don’t think it’s an either or. They felt comfortable with the depth and that should include injury. Watkins or Biggers may be fine in the role. No, none of the people we talked about will be as good as Boykin was in the slot, but we just need someone to be solid. That could be anyone on the roster right now.
Watkins has a shot. Not Biggers though. He was one of the worst players in one of the few secondaries that was worse than ours last season. He sucks.
ya, the way offenses put up points now they will get beat their fair share of times. I think fans tend to miss this bigger picture and expect almost too much out of a D. If they cut down on the 3rd down conversions alone it will go a long long way. Throw in Max on one side and Carroll/Rowe on other and a mix in slot and its already better. I think the SS and the slot corner will all be figured out in preseason and are still unknown, even with Thurmond seeming to lock in. As a fan I guess I get the scrutiny and low expectations but I think a lot of that is based on the past. Just hope new blood and Undlin can change that enough to make a difference. Every team has holes also, never go into a season feeling good everywhere.
Where is the petition to cancle the season. I must sign.
I think there is a large gap between, “the sky is falling” and complete apathy. For me, it’s the same broader principle as BPA in the draft. In the draft you don’t worry about adding players in a position of strength if there is a deal you can’t pass up. Football tends to work it all out, the only concern is snatching up the most talent you possibly can. Chip does this well in the draft. However as soon as the draft is over, talent becomes expendable. Boykin was expendable because Chip felt nickle CB was a position of strength. Then football happens, option 1a is off the table and we’re left with 1b and 1c. Just like that a position of strength turns to good enough with high hopes for a rookie, to a question mark. Kelly hates SIW’s, that’s something we all have in common.
We’ll be fine, but it’s just frustrating to see talent walk when it is so hard (or expensive) to replace.
I’m not sure JaCorey Sheperd was ever even going to start in September… There was a ton of competition left, and preseason was going to be an important test,,, I simply don’t believe that at the beginning of August, coaches had already decided that Shep would start over Watkins…
..
I think it was way too early to say Shep was going to start in the slot to begin the season…. I haven’t written off Jaylen Watkins yet, but I’m not a fan of Biggers…
..
With that said I can’t help but think how much more comfortable we would be if we still had Mathis and Boykin…
..
Hopefully we get some good luck and the rookie ISNT lost for the entire season… But can’t be doom n gloom about a rookie we didn’t even know what to expect from yet…… Hopefully we have gotten the serious injuries out of our system
In regards to Mathews and Murray. Being an avid FFBer for years, it seems Mathews always has an epic camp. I feel like I always hear the hype. Murray on the other hand I don’t ever recall hearing about during camp. I think both guys are very good and capable of about the same things. Wouldn’t read to much into the noise.
That’s because when the phrase “today here in Oxnard” is heard or read, I throw the remote or my computer before I have to hear some drivel where a national media member priases Jerry.
You know… it is a very real possibility that is why I haven’t heard about players. I don’t feel like I go out of my way to avoid Cowboys in FFB.. but I never seem to own them.
I was really depressed about Shepherd, and am still hoping the injury proves to be minor. However, we’re fine in the slot, because in nickel situations, the Eagles will probably move Maxwell inside against the top slot receivers (Maxwell is a stud slot corner) and play Carroll and Rowe outside.
There are good options at corner. Hope Shepherd remains one of those.
They aren’t going to move Maxwell.. Max will sit on one side and shut ish down…. Better chance of seeing Us stay in Base with safety Thurmond covering the slot…. Of course there is still plenty of time for Jaylen Watkins to prove he is better in the slot then a rookie late round pick..
..
Ideally Shep ISNT lost for the season…. I still have plenty of faith in watkins being able to handle slot duties
feel the same about Watkins. I think Nickel/slot is going to a “village” approach for now.
I think it’s absurd to think that coaches already decided a 6th round rookie was going to start without even seeing him in training camp or the preseason yet… If JaCorey ends up being healthy, im still not sold he would start for us in September….. even if Shep is healthy, I think we could still end up seeing Jaylen Watkins start at nickel in September…training camp and preseason play will decide the depth chart…
..
I don’t think Boykin got traded becayse we liked Shepp… I think Boykin was traded because there were a couple of slot DBs we liked. if we can’t overcome the loss of a 6th round rookie, we don’t deserve to succeed..
,,,
Hopefully JaCorey ISNT as injured as expected.. Would have loved to see watkins, Shep amd Biggers battle it out in preseason games..
Probably a good sign that Vandervelde will be the backup C. Either that, or they’ve given up on him at C and this is his last shot. Or … damn, just start playing football already!
I didn’t see this mentioned yesterday, but RIP Frank Gifford. Even though this is one of my favorite images with him on the ground, he’s in it and I’m sharing. RIP Chuck Bednarik too, and sad that both have gone on this year.
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2157800!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_635/bednarikweb22s-2-web.jpg
Two classy guys who probably sharing a cold one and watching the Dallas fans burn in the pits of Hades.
Question on the NB. Does Denzel Rice now get a shot at that spot? Seems to be a logjam at outside CB, and this may be a way for him to make the team.
Question 2 on Thurmond. Say Couplin (for s&g) or someone else looks solid at S and they can’t figure out NB. Thurmond move to NB? Or does Couplin get a shot there?
they could play more base w/ thurmond covering slot
I was thinking about that yesterday, but that only works if someone else viable appears at safety. Otherwise we would be trading a weak slot spot for a weak safety spot, not sure that’s a good trade.
I don’t see the appendix giving Couplin enough time to win the job. He doesn’t have the body of work for the coaching staff to feel comfortable with the time he is going to miss.
Small college guys can be a steal, due to the unknown factor. But that also plays against them when trying to step right into a complicated position like CB. Best bet if he plays well is practice squad, imo. Unless he really stands out on ST.
Part of me is routing for Miles Austin. Not a whole lot of buzz so far on him. Still early and a lot for him to learn.
…..
I don’t care the Mathews was a great college player. I only care about how he looked when healthy playing in the NFL. He looked great and I thought this was a great signing. He was signed on to be the featured back — until DM fell into their laps. What a tandem!
He might be the 5th option on this team.
JMatt, Agholor, Huff, Cooper – then would come Austin. He maybe like a player coach hopefully imparting some wisdom to the younger guys while making some contributions here and there.
Hope he can play STs really well.
Think Tutu is a lock to make roster
Is Tutu Miles Austin? I see the reference and I don’t know who you guys are talking about.
If so, why the nickname Tutu?
The new ST demon guy from the Chargers name ends in Tutu
Ahhh, Seyi!
Yeah him… ST BEAST, lock to make roster
The Big Long WR we signed to replace Brad smith as our ST ace.. Former charger. I will never know his real name… It’s something like Seyir Tutuola(ICE T CHARECTER in law n order SVU)
Sheil Kapadia is leaving Birds 24/7. I like that blog and it’s sad to see him go.
Really?! That sucks. He was carrying that blog. Where is he going?
Said he’s got another venture he’s going to work on, and it’s not Eagles-related.
http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2015/08/10/passing-the-torch-at-birds-247/
that’s a total bummer, wish he would continue writing about the Eagles.
Gonna miss his all22… But even worse is that Sheil is one of the only media members who actually asks decent questions during the press conferences…Sheil was even starting to get TV time on CSN… Losing him is a major blow for eagle fans
Bummer!
Wow.. That site becomes instantly useless If Sheil leaves
This is such a huge blow for us Eagles fans. Not even the moving on part, but that he doesn’t cover the Eagles anymore. We have two bloggers who really understand X and Os: Tommy here and Sheil. Losing 50 percent of that knowledge is devastating.
I really felt with Tommy here and with Sheils All 22s and his player evaluations after the games, I understood what happened on Sundays, which players were good without me seeing it that way, which players weren’t good despite me thinking they had a solid day. Those things. I trusted those two, I still do, obviously. And now 50 percent of that is gone. 🙁
If there is really something out there at which Sheil is better than writing about football, I can only congratulate him for being an extraordinary talent. If you’re this good at something and even better at something else, that’s special. Like Aaron Rodgers would also be the best WR in the game…
Wow… Didn’t see that coming. Loved Sheil’s reporting, he has a wonderful sense of humor and had a keen eye for spotting comedy in what was happening around the Eagles. Not a knock on his chops for reporting Eagles stuff too, but that was what I enjoyed most about him. Hope whatever he works on next works out for him.
If it is an ACL injury, doesn’t that make Shepard even MORE valuable to Chip?
If you don’t laugh you cry…
In almost all cases, yes. If you’re Mychal Kendricks though it’s evidence that you’re injury prone and you will soon be off the team.
If you are someone who thinks the coaches already decided that Shep was our starting Nickel, what you are basically saying is you think our coaches gave a 6th round pick a starting spot based soley off his play in OTA’s which is pretty absurd….
..
Boykin was traded before the start of training camp… So this narrative that Shep was such an amazing OTA player that it made Boykin expendable is crazy talk as far as I’m concerned.. more likely is we had a couple of talented Nickel options that made us feel boykin was expendable..
..
Truth is, training Camp, and preseason play was going to decide who was going to start at Nickel in September between JaCorey, Jaylen and Biggers… There is NO WAY that just based off OTAs the coaches were convinced JaCorey would start instead of Jaylen… To That I call Bullshit,..
..
I’m not going to get carried away about losing Shep because for all I know, Jaylen Watkins would have outPerformed him in camp and preseason and Shep would end up spending the season on the bench…..right now, we can say that losing JaCorey hurts our depth, but we have no idea if losing him effects our starting defense or not. I don’t see how we can just assume that he was going to blow watkins out of the competition with his preseason play.
..
For all we know, our best Nickel option is still healthy…
My Sherlock Holmes deduction is that the coaching staff didn’t value Boykin as much as fans and media. They thought a 4/5 was too good to pass up, given that he was not hard to replace (and guaranteed to leave). I also think this was more of a system/philosophy fit than a comment on Boykin’s talent. No doubt he can make plays, but they felt he has holes in his game that can be exploited.
The idea that they had fixated on Shepherd at this point makes no sense.
If he gets 60% time this year, we have both an extra 3rd (draft day trade) and extra 4th (Boykin). We don’t have a 2nd, but we don’t know what the future holds. Having two 3rds and two 4ths could mean a draft day trade to get back into Rd 2, or they stay pat and see what they can get.
For all we know, they made trade #32 to get a 2nd and a third 3rd round pick!
For a second I was trying to figure out why they would trade Rowe. 😉
I’m down with trading #32 for anything they want.
Nice to hear that Bradford has taken Every rep so far and hasn’t had to worry about a pitch count and not suffer any setbacks… Hopefully we are 6 days away from seeing Bradford throw against a live rush. Facing a live rush will be good for him, and preseason is important because he also needs to get used to running our shotgun run game against live Defenses
..
Ryan Mathews is one of the rare franchise backs to enter the NFL since RBs have been devalued. kid has all the talent you could ever want but his career has been plagued by injuries and he has fumbled at key times..,Mathews has put up impressive numbers but I don’t think he has played his best ball yet… Hopefully chip can get it out of him… 230lb physical running who ran an explosive 4.37…it should really suck to have to play against our tempo, while we keep sending Fresh, big physical RBs like Mathws and Murray to punish you at the end of every run… Add the physicality of our run game, ability to keep our big backs fresh, and our tempo forcing defenses to suck wind, it should suck having to play against our run game when the OL gets it going..l
..
Love how Lane and Bennie Logan were talking smack about Hardy after the idiot flew a banner during military appreciation day.. Lane basically called him a loudmouth who will have to deal with Jason peters, and Logan seems to think he is an idiot who needs to shut up because he doesn’t understand the hatred between Philly and Dallas… I love how much Logan has started to hate the cowboys… Cox hates them too, Fletcher felt disrespected..last time that happened Cox dominated the Cowboys on Thanksgiving in what was Cox best game ever played… Can’t wait to see those pussies in week 2
I’m starting to believe CK does want a 2nd back. Going into preseason I figured Murray would get the majority of the carries this season, but I’m starting to think CK will split the carries between the two. If he does, maybe Murray doesn’t break 300 carries, but Mathews is over 200 carries too.
My thinking is that if the Eagles offense gets 450+ carries for the season, we are doing well. Even better if both are healthy at the end of the year and have like 200ish carries apiece.
I can also see it being close to a 50/50 split… No more then 60/40. Hopefully they can use each other to stay healthy
..
I look at it this way, Chip runs a much faster tempo and tries to get more plays off then Andy… If andy could make a 3 headed monster work, no reason chip can’t since he is going to get off more plays then andy did with DUCE, Buckhalter and westbrook….
…
We just need Marco and Mathews to stay healthy and cut down the fumbles
Think so much will depend on how well we run the ball initially in games. If we a running consistently early in games i think Chip will go really run heavy. Nothing is more effective than up tempo run game to destroy the moral and fitness of an opposing team.
Even in 2013 the Eagles were not a consistent running team – Shady would have drives where he would put up 50 yards in 3 carries and then the next drive go 2 yards on 2 carries.
If the run game gets on top of teams early i could see a 50%+ run ratio which should leave 200+ carries for both backs over the season. If we struggle to consistently run early then we could be looking at 350-400 carries total for the year meaning either 1 or both will not be getting 200.
what’s the reference to a 2nd round pick?
Not a 2nd round pick back, but a 2nd RB behind the 1st.
Be awesome to see powerful Malcolm Bunche come out of no where, continue to improve so much that he starts at RG… Dude is supposedly strong as an OX and can really move defenders.. We know what tobin and Gadner are at this point,, be great if we found a starting caliber steal in Bunche… Wanna see him in the preseason ..
..
If I had to bet on the RG spot, my money would probably be on Gardner, then Moffit……. But I’m rooting for Bunche,
..
I’m hoping Moffits experience at Center allows us to cut MOLK and Vandervelde….. Guys like Graf and Dennis Kelly have been with Stoutland for years,.. If they aren’t progressing, then get them. Out of here
I like the competition there. I do think Bunche will make the team, but if he can play both G/C it will be a win-win. These guys need to get in a game so the coaches can watch some film. Last year in preseason, the backups played so well it made it difficult to cut people at the end of the preseason.
If they can repeat this year, I definitely feel comfortable with our depth going into the season. Those extra reps I think help, and now some of these guys have 1 or 2 years already under their belt.
I think more then one player could get the job done for us..I don’t care so much who wins, I cares that once we decide who starts, that players stays healthy so our OL can gel…. Once the RG and Lane start to Gel, we will be fine,, what we can’t have is a new OL injury every week, guys Linning up next to someone new each game… If we get continuity, we will be fine..
I know everyone hates ESP, but this is interesting nonetheless…
https://twitter.com/EliotShorrParks/status/630461881447251968
Yeah, it didn’t sound like Foles played particularly well (or at least consistently) last year during OTAs or camp, and that carried over into the regular season. I thought he was beginning to play better just as he got hurt, but may have been a mirage. Significant contrast to the 2012 camp when both Vick and Foles seemed to play really well (which also carried over to the regular season).
Nerdish semantic quibble: Someone with “talent” produces at the NFL level. People who can run fast or throw things far have something else–measurables, maybe? There must be a word which can account for players who have some sort of observable ability but are, in the end, stiffs. I don’t think talent is it, because it implies they could be productive NFL players if they worked harder.
“Bench Warmers”
Getting rid of Boykin was a really smart move, right Tommy?
http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-just-relax-183.png
Fire Tommy. Live Long, LongDing, our new king of IgglesBlog.
My first post will be “Chip Kelly IS racist and will NOT be Eagles coach next year because he belongs in FREAKING COLLEGE FOOTBALL”
I hope this is sarcasm.
I hope the post also contains lots of words in caps.
Not enough ellipses.
Quick, get on the phones. There must be some team to whom we can trade a 4th round pick in exchange for borrowing a player for a year, so that the player can compete with the guys we have and most likely win the job to play in a sub package this year and then leave.
That seems like an appropriate reaction to probably losing a 6th round rookie who was looking good in training camp, right?
I have no clue what you mean. Sorry.
I mean that even if we had a Super Hindsight 2000 button that allowed us to undo the Boykin trade, we would be giving back a 4th round pick to get back an unhappy player for a year, to play in a sub package, who will then leave in free agency.
Uhh did you watch Boykin last night? You don’t want a guy on the team like that? Are you dumb?
was he excelling in man press coverage against much bigger receivers?
yes. Did you see him tip the ball? Too short my nuts.
We’ll see what happens vs AJ Green. If he played outside here he’d get Dez twice a year (mismatch not in our favor), OBJ twice a year (mismatch not in our favor), and especially this year vs Julio Jones (not in our favor), Brandon Marshall (not in our favor), Calvin Johnson (not in our favor) – should I keep going?
A 5’9 CB is not going to press a receiver 6’3 or bigger. It’s. Just. Not. Happening.
Get a grip dude.
you drink too much kool-aid. By your logic Allen Iverson can’t dunk.
he can dunk but he could never guard shaq
there you have it
Two different things. Yeah Boykin can jump, but he’s at least 1/2 foot shorter and probably about 30-40 lbs lighter than the receivers he’s got to press against. He’s going to lose the majority of those battles in this scheme.
In Pitt, they don’t press as much and play more zone. This enhances his strengths and covers up his weaknesses.
So now the question becomes, do you change a whole defensive scheme for Boykin or find someone that fits the scheme?
enh, this debate has been done to death and Im over the trade. Usually only takes me a few days and then we deal with what the front office does, what can you do as a fan. Im not going to justify it though and dont think bigger WRs always win battles simply because of size. Can and do they at times, sure, but theres plenty of times the more athletic player can close and get near the ball regardless and make a play vs a bigger DB who just gets beat. Probably evens out in some way. I get the scheme part though and wanting press man
Long Ding and too short nuts? Sorry, man, must be awkward. I guess it explains the irrational hatred for Big Balls Chip, though.
I would like to think I am not, but I guess if I am then I would not be a good judge, would I? It sounds like you can relate.
What Boykins did and does in the Steelers system has little correlation to what he would have done here in a different system, playing a different position. Just like Evan Mathis found here, and Barwin found here, and Trotter found out in Washington, and Michael Jordan found out on the White Sox.
If you think Boykin can’t play you are really stupid.
No one is saying he can’t play. What we are saying is that he’s not a fit on the outside in this scheme. If he didn’t want to play nickel, then we had to get something in return.
You’re probably the same person who got upset because we got nothing for Desean, but now upset that we got something for Boykin.
Clearly analogy isn’t your strong suit. Let me expand. The point of mentioning Mathis, Trotter, Barwin, and Jordan as an extreme hyperbolic example was to illustrate the point in the preceding sentence.
All of the players I mentioned were quite successful in one system, and less successful in another.
Following that line of thought, I was making the point that Boykin’s success in Pittsburgh does not mean he would see the same success in Philly.
So, no, I was not saying that Boykin cannot play. I like Boykin as a player. I am saying that in our system he was not going to suddenly see the success that he saw in one meaningless game in preseason of another system playing a different position. He was going to continue to contribute at the same level, to be unhappy filling a role that everyone knows wasn’t maximizing his talent until he could leave.
Mrs. Boykin….is that you? He’s a Steeler now. Go away please.
With a good enough player, you should tailor the system to them. That is why the Whitesox screwed up by not switching the to Bulls system when they had Jordan.
Hitting in a triangle offense would have really helped Jordan with the breaking balls.
scheme
who needs talented players…
translation “waaaaaaaaaaaaa”
I heard Chip Kelly makes the players where Eagles sweats and take a school bus to the games. Is that the most obnoxious thing ever?
Where does he make them sweat?
I have also heard that Chip makes the players, through his training and coaching, but I didn’t realize he did it where Eagles sweat. Is that a code name for some cloning facility?
As new IggleBlitz writer my second column will be titled “Goodbye Chip. Thanks for getting rid all of our awesome players. After the miracle in the meadowlands Desean Jackson was hated in Philly. The leading Eagles rusher of all time wasn’t wanted by this City either. You did a great job of purging all of our loved players. Now get the hell, outta here you racists piece of $H|T!!!!”
I think you are overestimating the authority that comes with the title King of Igglesblitz.
That’s why those of us who appreciate the generally thankless nature of Tommy’s work never tried to pull a coup.
it’s worse than coaching the co-ed softball team and that’s a really thankless job.
“Also you owe all of us new jerseys!!!”
“ANd we don’t want some freaking stinking handicapped Bradford jersey.”
Wow, that’s a lot of replies to yourself. Do you usually have conversations with yourself?
Shh, don’t interupt. I want to see what happens when he starts arguing!
haha.
great move getting rid of him just in time although getting something back would have been a nice bonus. That TV show and rap career are top priorities, perfect timing
and scorching the Eagles…
and tackling sleds
Hey hey hey man watch yourself Jaccpot is about that thug life I am sure that tackling sled was a blood and was just too much for Jackson. Give Desean some credit he tried to block that sled better then he ever blocked anyone for the Eagles.
check out his stats against the eagles. tackling sled is a better defense
how about the rest of the league?
and baby mamas
those 6 TDs last year really opened up their offense
thanks to @disqus_2J2CefDC8x:disqus for reminding us of this – no better way to put that in perspective
Did you watch the Eagles versus the Redskins you fukcing doushe bag?
please stop crying. it’s embarrassing everyone
Interesting
How about you get the hell outta here because you’re a worthless piece SHIT.. Your trolling is amateur at best. Your views are clearly based of the many chromosomes you are missing. Oh and you’re the classic delusional “Eagles Fan” still salty over getting rid of players that helped win how many playoff games and SBs? Yea shut up.
fukc you
Great comeback man, got any other great ones? Don’t come talking smack with nothing but short sited, idiotic comments and you wont get the wrath of the Douche.
fukc you
Eagles mothership reports it is a torn ACL for Shepherd. That sucks for the young man.
Should I upvote to thank you for the update, or downvote because this sucks?
poor dude. at least it’s early enough to get him in camp next year
Are you still glad they got a 5th round pick for Boykin?
yes, b/c there’s biggers and watkins right behind shephard.
Shephard tore ACL. Damn.
This is sad news. But he’ll rehab and get to it next year.
how do you know?
Do players not generally rehab and try again the following year? Especially in their rookie season? Brandon Graham comes to mind.
only makes him more of an eagle. lots of torn acls on this team
He is a later round pick and going to face a real uphill climb to make it back on the roster.
Yes, but Travis Long was an undrafted free agent and he was going to make the team. They put him on IR because they think he has the potential to give them another talented player. I hope Shepherd doesn’t have to go through as many injuries, but I think they like what they’ve seen enough to hold onto him and see how he pans out next year.
I have no idea how the finances work for a 6th round pick on IR salary vs. Injury settlement and release. But in terms of football resources, it costs nothing to let him rehab, and only one of the 90 slots next year to give him a shot. The coverage over the last few weeks sound as if that is a no brainer.
Later round pick? Yes but in my opinion his coverage skills show a much higher caliber. He is worth keeping around not to mention we have him for 4 years if we want. IMO the only reason he dropped was a hurt hammy and terrible tackling skills. Those can be fixed. I think he is special in terms of coverage
Damn, diving in with Troll guns blazing.
this bad news. not because we have no depth but obviously y we all were hearing how well he was doing and we had a steal..
poor guy.
Has there been any status updates on Ryans?
meco? mixing w/ the ones, not 100% but playing well. hasn’t missed time.
Huff has to learn to hold the ball like Tiki Barber. Seems like the DBs get burned a lot in the red zone drills so glad to read they are winning a lot of battles.
he has to learn how to catch before he learns to hold it. he sucks.
LOL – okay dude you seem to know soooo much about football. When Huff has a good year, please come back and remind us of how much he sucks.
What proof do you have? It has been noted many times before in the press that the Eagles are higher on Huff’s potential more than Matthews. But hey, you seem to know more than the guys that study tape and do evaluations every day.
he/she is getting all the attention a 10 yr old could ask for
Let’s just go with ‘she.’
freddie mitchel had almost 300% more catches in his rookie season. huff sucks.
So we’re going to miss Djax’s 6 TDs this year then? I also guess rookies can’t have a bad first year?
http://m.memegen.com/w3lxph.jpg
boykin is taller than huff. huff sucks.
Boykin-5ft9 & Huff-5ft11
5ft11 is good????
I’m 5ft7 so umm yeah, it’s great!
Not to mention Huff is about 210 lbs whereas Boykin is about 180lbs. Oh wait is he also trying to compare a CB to a WR in terms of talent? Man this guy is a genius.
From his comments we should know he can’t count.
He’ll go away sooner if you don’t feed the troll.
THIS, please everyone
Yup, I will not respond.
*anymore
who would win in a fight you think?
Ok CHip Kelly come-rag suckers, It’s okay to jettison a talented short CB who led the team in ints last year but a $hitty WR who is $hort as fukc is actualyl fukcing good? Are you come suckers serious? Chip Kelly SUCKS. HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE IS DOING.
Keep the moron comments coming I am getting a great laugh at work. Nate Allen led the Eagles in INTs last year smart guy. NATE F’N ALLEN!!..enough said.
…
Also you suck at posting and have no idea what you are doing or talking about.
Wrong come knob.
22Brandon Boykin23cb/lcb1626136176172000042595Mychal Kendricks23LB15153250185204604.08627
Gibberish seems about right coming from you.
“At work.”….something tells me the other guy isn’t at work.
Nate Allen?! That is the best comment in this entire comedy. He didn’t even check the single fact included in all of his ramblings.
Facts aren’t a part of his lexicon. I don’t think he knows what those are.
Yea I thought it was funny as well that he continued with his ridiculous statements without any info to back it. That is why he getting clowned the way he is.
Isn’t it “cum rag”?
And all along I thought Chip had a plan. Thanks for setting all of us straight. Tell me, how many NFL teams have you scouted for/coached to make these statements?
you dont need to be a scout to see how terrible this is going.
How terrible what is going? No preseason games played yet and the joint practices haven’t happened yet and this is going terrible? Do you actually watch or have the slightest knowledge about football? I am going to give up attacking you shortly but you my friend are an idiot. How can you get a read of how anything is going when the team has yet to face a different opponent?
None. Oh, well then STFU.
Surprised a Cowboys fan has survived this long. Usually such a fan on an Eagles blog is castrated. Oh wait, you use to be LongDong but now you’re LongDing. Mission accomplished!
So 6ft7 Momah was good because he’s so tall or nah?
Hey guys, just thought I’d break up some of the tension with a great thing I saw on Reddit. Someone has started a Change.org petition to have the Pope bless Sam Bradford’s knees while he’s in town…
https://www.change.org/p/philadelphia-eagles-philadelphia-temple-university-have-pope-francis-rub-sam-bradford-s-knees
that’ should work like a charm.
Tebow has already performed the blessing.
I’d hate to use curse words on a blog, but dammit where is GEAGLE when trolls come on the board? He yells at the regulars who have disagreements when it’s not deserved, but when trolls come on the board he’s nowhere to be found.
Sigh. First world problems.
Fuck off!…. Better?
Not me. LOL
I get your passion about football and you get head up w/some of the people here – but these aren’t trolls on the level of the new clown that has just entered.
You came through like a thoroughbred.
He came through like an ELITE commenter..
So GEAGLE and the Eagle-hating trolls are never seen at the same time, huh?
If this were a cheesy superhero flick, someone would astutely notice that the trolls look suspiciously like GEAGLE without neatly combed hair and a sharp suit. Meanwhile, the camera would pan across GEAGLE’s midnight green study and zoom in on the secret entrance to his troll lair. In the dark den, walls covered in articles about hurt players and trades, sits a laptop next to a list of user names and passwords, beginning with Morton and ending with LongDing.
Of course, this isn’t a superhero flick, so the trolls are just bored Philly.com readers casting their lines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaEC-lWSlmI
I didn’t see the play, but should we be a little mad at Sproles for teeing up his teammate next to the out of bounds line?
I wonder, if it happens, then wasn’t it just going to happen at some point,or no?
not unless this is a Final Destination movie.
Yea i saw it live and was thinking “wtf sproles”? when it happened because it was sort of a cheap shot i guess. But then again, you didn’t expect a torn acl out of the situation. Just a total unfortunate situation.
My view is that every player at TC needs to play with Kiko intensity. There should not be any difference between TC and game performance.
Shep let his guard down. Sproles may have given him a “welcome to the NFL” tap that went horribly wrong.
Re: Nickel Back
With Sheppard’s season-ending injury confirmed . . . will rookie Randall Evans get a look inside now — where he played quite a bit at K-State?
Also, with Nickel Backs closer to the high-traffic areas, do they get away with being more physical than CBs on the outside? Maybe a function of the officiating crew?
Sorry to say that Evans looks like a penalty machine. My vote is for longshot Rice. But they do have options with Carroll and Death Rowe.
Does Watkins have a shot? Didn’t show much last year but second year players can often step up in a large way (Huff sounds much better this year for instance).
Yeah, it will probably be Watkins or Rice to start. Rice has better “always around the ball” skills.
I would guess that Watkins has the inside lane, with Rice behind him and Biggers as the last option before getting desperate.
death Rowe ha, I like it
Agreed. Hopefully in a few years he can be the namesake for the next name-worthy defense.